Heaven and Hell
By: Jón Kalman Stefánsson ; translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton
Contributors: Roughton, Philip
Publisher: MacLehose Press, Quercus
Published: 2010
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 215
ISBN-13: 9781906694531
Subjects: Bereavement; Fiction; Fishing stories; Death; Friendship; Social life and customs
Work titles: Himnaríki og helvíti
Description: In a remote part of Iceland, a boy and his friend Bardur join a boat to fish for cod. A winter storm surprises them out at sea and Bardur who has forgotten his waterproof as he was too absorbed in "Paradise Lost", succumbs to the ferocious cold and dies. Appalled by the death and by the fishermen's callous ability to set about gutting the fatal catch, the boy leaves the village, intending to return the book to its owner. The extreme hardship and danger of the journey is of little consequence to him - he has already resolved to join his friend in death. But once in the town he immerses himself in the stories and lives of its inhabitants, and decides that he cannot be with his friend just yet.
Notes: Translation of Himnaríki og helvíti.